Main

Firmament III + IV

Beggars Banquet

What is music anyway? Junk all the cultural crap normally attached to the definition, and all you’re left with is “ordered sound.” Several parties could argue about the “ordered” part, too, and they’d have some pretty convincing points. Main seems to be one of those parties, and they’re even bold enough to dispute the “sound” part, as large portions of this two-CD set are either silent or nearly inaudible. Is the disc over? Are we waiting for a hidden track? Or is it just the sound of an egg frying, turned down so low the first LED on the level meter hardly flickers? Main seems to forego any pretense at assembling melody or rhythm, instead chaining sounds together according to some higher order, or perhaps completely randomly. I get the feeling it’s all the same to Main. Subtle stuff. Beggars Banquet, 580 Broadway, Suite 1004, New York, NY 10012